The toughest projects are the ones someone else started—you could sell t-shirts with that phrase written on them.
Don Ladouceur knew that when he spotted an ad for a 1963 Mercury pickup that was still in project phase, but he still popped on the deal.
Jerry Sutherland
He bought it because he’s a huge fan of these Canadian-only Mercury trucks and he knows they’re hard to find. Dan also noticed the three guys waiting in line behind him who also wanted the same pickup—that made it an easy decision to pay the guy his full asking price.
This Merc truck was at the 90% done stage, but Don had a different vison for the truck. He liked the paint, but he wanted to update what was under it. For example, the front end was all-60s Ford truck, and he wanted something that would handle a lot better, so he added a P-71 (police-spec) Ford Crown Victoria front end.
Don’s a retired member of the RCMP, so he knew how well the Crown Vics handled—that made this system a priority. There were some adjustments like custom mounts for the steering components and a few other tweaks. His goal was to build a truck that handled like a new car, because Don’s not a trail queen guy—he’s a road warrior guy.
In fact, the Merc handles so well now his wife prefers to drive it.
The Merc had some other things going on because it had been hauled all over the place, so it was showing some damage. Don said the paint had chips and scrapes that needed attention from all the travel, plus pieces were missing. He also completely detailed the frame.
The paint problem was easy to solve, but finding vintage ’63 Merc trim pieces was another story. Don tracked down what was missing, but it was a long and winding road that took four years. Don admitted he, “wouldn’t do it again”.
There’s a 351 Cleveland under the hood because this is an all-Ford build, so a classic Ford V-8 was non-optional. Don said the engine was rebuilt, but it’s not done to high-performance specs because Don wanted a reliable driver—not a ¼-mile star. The only modifications are an electronic ignition upgrade, carb, and custom headers.
That doesn’t mean the Merc is a paper tiger—Don said it can easily handle highway speeds. The truck is also lowered 3” in front so the Merc’s road manners are infinitely better than a stock version of the same truck. There are heavy-duty P-71 disc brakes up front so this pickup stops a lot better than a stock ’63 Merc.
That was the game plan for this project–take something close to completion and engineer it into a classic resto-mod. Don knew he had a winner the day he bought it, but he also knew he had to make it his own.
These are rare trucks because they are Canadian-only, but a ’63 Mercury built to this level is extremely rare.
It was worth the four years it took to push this classic truck project over the goal line.
Jerry Sutherland
By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
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